The King of Kong:A Fistful of Quarters-I'm not at all a fan of documentaries-but I enjoy ones like Wordplay that are primarily character-driven,myriad of facts & numbers aren't merely statistics but used to amplify the characters and the connections they have to greater clarity.So even one without any prior information or interest on the subject of video games can find it easy to appreciate this film.And it's exciting to see the characters,real people without a script or director dictating-under this unrestrained and naturally competitive environment,they unknowingly expose their true selves-the camera careful enough to pick up a minor details-a passing glance,a forced smile,snippets of phone conversations-that are extremely,and oh-so-deliciously telling.
Before The Devil Know You're Dead- It's desperate to drain out as much drama and story it can from its few characters that the end result is a horribly convoluted mess that runs past its countless plot lines with an openly drunken approach to developing depth.It can't decide where to really focus,not even at the very end-juggling the sibling chemistry,father's murderous vendetta,wife's two-timing,and a whole other bunch of shit clumsily added to the mix in hope of achieving a layered effect only welcomes frustration,that even once it's ended,various plot holes remain unsolved and the disappearance of two main characters is left completely unexplained.Also,a whole other bunch of things that hardly contribute to the film,mainly-1) the nonlinear arrangement of events is pointless,confusing and leaves the build-up fucked to bits 2) the ever-toplessness of Marisa Tomei adds absolutely nothing and seems like a last-minute call for savior 3) The script-people breaking down or launching into lectures at opportune moments,when it feels like they haven't done much to deserve it or to truly make it any bit meaningful,i.e.: sudden "I know I wasn't a good father" puke-inducing types.I want to bury this film six feet underground,in the furthest planet I can find.
Black Snake Moan-An instant favorite,for me at least.Some of my favorite reviewers have expressed strong hatred for it-often dubbed racist and misogynistic,two things I honestly didn't find here.Sure there's the white female town-whore unwillingly kept by a Bible-toting Black man who's out to cure her,but we soon find that they're both despondently torn and corrupt in their own ways and that it's a two-way relationship,with a lot of clever,often touching, metaphors that come in: like how the chain Christina Ricci's first unwillingly binded by eventually comes to protect her from herself.Oh,one mark of a great performance is that it slips your mind who the actor is,and the character itself surfaces past flesh & bones-like Christina Ricci here,who's chimes in one of last year's best,most overlooked performances.Unapologetically racy and at times unnecessarily dramatic (the scene where Sam Jackson plays an electric guitar and a sudden blackout occurs then then lights start flickering while he sings on-could've been played down a bit),the film's just the right combo of bizzare,truthful,intelligent and sexy.
The Great Debaters-Often one-sided with the arguments-the first time they (a Black team) debate a White team,the topic's something like "Blacks shouldn't be allowed admission to White Uni's"-you know there's going to be a touchy,totally guilt-free politician's speech of some kind,complete with "inspirational",overly theatrical calls for equality and so on.I had a feeling the supporting characters were mostly dumb playthings-the director treated them without any sympathy,leaving the few main characters as the only ones looking human.Formulaic and over-the-top,dull as hell,and it feels like something typically 90s-finishing it felt like an arduous chore.
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